A wide variety of blanket cleaning systems and apparatus employing the same to clean the cylinders of printing presses are known. Typical blanket cleaning systems and apparatus employing the same, including cleaning blankets and cleaning solutions, are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,448 to Moestue which is directed to a mechanism for cleaning a cylinder that is provided with a cleaning cloth which is wetted with a cleaning fluid or solution prior to its encountering the pressure roller; U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,391 to Futch et al. is directed to a composition for ink removal that exhibits a low vapor pressure and which is a low vapor pressure organic compound; U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,182 to Sawaguchi et al. is directed to a cleaning apparatus in which a cleaning cloth is dampened by a liquid; U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,716 to Gerson is directed to a wash for removing ink comprising a low volatile organic compound; U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,739 to Loos is directed to a washing device comprising a cleaning cloth dampened with a washing medium and U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,128 to Hara is directed to a device for cleaning a cylinder of a printing machine comprising a cleaning cloth impregnated with a cleaning liquid.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,567 to Staehr is directed to a liquid for cleaning ink from printing machines; U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,342 to Hara is directed to a method for cleaning the cylinder of a printing machine; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,639 to Krawack is directed to a cloth moistened with a low vapor pressure cleaning agent for removing ink; whereas U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,754 to Weltman et al. is directed to a cloth soaked with a cleaning formula and U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,173 to Folkard et al. is directed to a method for removing ink from printing machines. Still further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,344,361 and 4,757,763 to MacPhee et al. is directed to automatic blanket cylinder cleaners provided with cleaning fabrics adapted to contact the blanket cylinders of printing presses. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,080 to Gasparrini et al. is directed to a cloth supply system for the blanket cylinder for use in printing presses.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,217 to Lenarz is directed to a sealed envelope which contains a moistened pad that functions as a swab. The pad is secured to the envelope by an intermediate line seal. Consequently, when the top of the envelope is removed, the pad is exposed. Since the pad is still captively held to the remainder of the envelope, the liquid on the pad may be dispensed by holding the clean, dry, bottom of the envelope. Thus, the pad functions as a swab and the remainder of the envelope functions as the applicator and the reservoir. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,984 to McClendon is directed to a pre-packaged single use disposable wiper pad or towelette that is saturated with a disinfecting liquid and the pad is effective to disinfect inanimate surfaces. The pad is of a size which fits into a pocket or purse and makes it convenient to carry, while posing no problem in disposing of the same, such as by flushing in a toilet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,724 to Inagaki is directed to a water-proof container having a cylindrical base member made of paper which is surrounded by a double-wall heat-shrinkable plastic film covering the paper base member and having at least one portion heat-sealed to close the paper base member entirely within the plastic film and lid connected to the base member for closing at least one open end of a container shape formed by the paper base member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,916 to Hedden et al. is directed to a package of wound glass fiber strand from which the glass fiber strands can be removed more efficiently for feeding into processing operations. The wound package of glass fiber strands is a package of superimposed annular layers of glass fiber strands having a central longitudinal, cylindrical cavity about which the strands are wound and having an outer cylindrical surface and a substantially flat circular top and bottom section. The package is covered with a stretchable polymeric film and at least one free end of the glass fiber strand extends into the central cavity for removal from the interior to the exterior of the package. U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,563 to Becker et al. is directed to an article of manufacture comprising a hollow rod of longitudinally gathered tubes of cellulose hydrate-based materials the hollow rod having a latent water content of between about 25% and 100% by weight based on the total weight of the hollow rod and being free of chemical anti-bacteriocidal agent; a closed, substantially gas impermeable packaging sheath having a hollow interior chamber therein and in which the hollow rod is positioned so that this rod is completely enveloped by the packaging sheath which is made of a flexible film of material that is substantially impermeable to gases; and a protective gas essentially fills the remaining portion of the hollow interior chamber of the sheath so that the gas protects the hollow rod against the formulation of aerobic microorganisms on the water-containing cellulose hydrate material.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,176 to Boggs is directed to a high speed yarn take-up system which consists of a pneumatic injector nozzle rotably mounted off-center of a single fluted rotating screw. Yarn is injected into the area exposed at the trailing edge of the screw and compressed and moved forward in a compression chamber by the feeding of the screw. A plastic tube is continuously formed around the compression chamber to receive the yarn mass as it discharges, thus forming a tube of indefinite unlimited length and from 1/4 to 4 inches or larger in diameter. The tube may contain a single end or multiple ends of yarn which may be removed from the tube at high speed by simply slitting the plastic as the yarn is pulled from the package. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,294 to Phillips et al. is directed to a package of roving unsized continuous filaments of glass, the package being saturated with water which maintains the filaments in group orientation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,014,579 to Lathorp is directed to a disposable cleaning device which consists of a capsule containing a plurality of applicators and which may be employed in many and various uses. The applicators enclosed within the capsule comprise a central core of sponge or sponge rubber having a wad or pad of absorbent material, such as cotton or the like, wrapped around the core. The core is saturated with suitable material and the cotton wrap, for example, provides a vehicle through which the material in the sponge rubber core is absorbed from the core and applied to a given usage.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,189,556 to Younghusband is directed to a pipe cleaner formed with a pliable metal member, such as a spindle or length of wire or the like. Attached to that member and extending through at its length are tufts of fabric or other material capable of absorbing liquid. These tufts are impregnated or saturated with a liquid solvent solution and the impregnating pipe cleaners are then packed in a container and sealed to prevent evaporation.
While the above-mentioned patents accomplish their purposes to a satisfactory extent, they still exhibit a variety of drawbacks. For example, they usually require apparatus, such as pumps, spray bars, manifold lines, valves, and the like as part of the automatic blanket cleaning systems for introducing the cleaning solvents or solutions to the cleaning fabric just prior to actual use. Moreover, even in these cases, where the cleaning rolls or fabric rolls are pre-soaked or pre-wetted, the pre-soaking or pre-wetting, must be accomplished just before use in order to minimize loss of cleaning solvent or solution in order to provide an effective cylinder cleaning system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,157 to Gasparrini et al., the present applicants, attempted to overcome these problems. That patent is directed to a pre-packaged, pre-soaked cleaning system for use with printing machines or the like to clean the cylinders of such machines and which comprises a pre-soaked fabric roll saturated to functional equilibrium with low volatility organic compound solvent and which is disposed around an elongated, cylindrical core and enclosed in a sealed sleeve which if desired may be a heat-sealed or a heat-shrunken and heat-sealed plastic sleeve disposed around and intimate contact with the fabric roll, whereby the pre-soaked saturated fabric roll can be transported and stored vertically and/or horizontally until use without substantially disturbing the distribution of the solvent in the fabric roll and detrimentally effecting the cleaning ability of the fabric.
While the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,157 works for its intended purpose, improvements have been discovered. When the patented product is placed in the vertical position, the solvent would shift downward in the evacuated package. When the package is restored to the horizontal position, the solvent migrates back towards equilibrium in the roll. This migration is caused by air pockets in the fabric of the roll that have not been completely evacuated.
There exists, therefore, a need for providing a prepackaged, pre-soaked blanket cleaning system which minimizes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks. The present invention fulfills such a need.